Start with the End

I originally thought that, before going to AFM, I should have a film that was well into development.

In 2008, I started my production company, Life Out Loud Films, to make our first film “Lake Effects.” It was a family drama, the script was still being written and we had no money or talent attached when I decided to buy a half pass to AFM. Here, I learned a lesson that has become the touchtone of my filmmaking career: For true success, I must understand the end of the process at the start.

Attending, I wanted to understand how to work the market and get the lay of the land so I would know what to expect when my film was ready for distribution. It would be my tech scout of AFM.

Once there, the energy was inspiring and I began meeting sales agents/distributors who have since become great mentors and supporters. I began to understand the importance of doing my homework about the distribution phase while still in development. For success, it was imperative that I understand the marketplace, the film’s audience and begin making decisions now in the writing, casting and producing that will increase our film’s ability to be sold and seen. Not compromising the artistic integrity of the film but making smart business decisions now to sell it later.

I have since gone to AFM every year and cultivated lasting relationships with companies who now know me by name, know my work and track my future projects with interest. I demonstrated that I am serious about the business side of film and don’t just want to make a film, but make a film that can be sold. Investors love that we do our homework and actively network early on the film’s behalf.

Because of AFM, “Lake Effects” (which premiered on Hallmark) was in the amazing position to pick from many wonderful companies the team we felt was best for the film and both of my first two films had serious interest from several companies before they were complete. AFM enabled me to educate myself and take control of the destiny of my films.

I always encourage filmmakers to attend AFM and utilize this wonderful filmmaking tool for indie filmmakers. Start with the end.

The 2013 AFM Changed My Life

We achieved more with our film than I could have ever imagined. Headed into the AFM, we had absolutely no clue what we were doing. Although my co-writer/director, Jay Leggett, had years of experience on large projects (best known for co-writing Paramount's, "Without a Paddle.") and I've starred in a handful of indie films, neither of us had ever sold a movie.

Our film's strength is that it has a great title, Live Nude Girls, and a solid cast who have a following. We assumed a sales agent or distributor would fall in love with it prior to AFM and want to represent it there. We were wrong. With only a week before the start of the market, we were out of time and money. I used the last remaining funds available on a company credit card to buy our passes. We started emailing and calling everyone on the exhibitor list. We didn't secure any appointments. So we prepped a list of targets and figured we'd go door knocking. We were nervous and uncertain about how we would fare.

Then we were amazed as we were received with open arms by nearly everyone. Even distributors who rejected us over email were now taking our pitch. We even had several offers right in the room. By the end of the week, one acquisition exec we hadn't met with ran to grab us before getting on the elevator saying, “I heard about your film! We have to meet!” The week couldn't have gone better. All in all, we received 14 offers for distribution and a handful of sales agents wanting to represent the film.

I will forever cherish my experience at AFM not only because of what I learned and accomplished while there but also because it was the last time I would get to spend quality time with my friend and colleague, Jay Leggett. Jay went home to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving just after the market and passed away while he was there. We were still in negotiations with several distributors when it happened. I know that Jay would be proud of the fact that our film is being released around the world through a distributor we met with at AFM and I am excited that audiences will get to see his hilarious final piece of work.

Get one in the can

After attending my first AFM last year, I was very inspired to shift gears in how I thought of filmmaking. I was banging my head against the wall trying to get big‐budget finance and it finally clicked: I really needed to get one in the can instead of continuing to seek funding for an "Opus" project.

A like‐minded friend of mine approached me with a wild idea to shoot a 90 minute length Feature in just 3 days on a smaller budget. I did some research and found that the only person to pull this off (on record) was Roger Corman in 1960 with "Little Shop of Horrors."

Six weeks after I received the script for "THE DARK", we shot our movie in less than 3 days at an abandoned, haunted hospital. The experience was FANTASTIC! We ran 3 crews, shooting 10 pages per crew per day and included SPFX and stunts. Nobody lost their mind, and we now have what we refer to as a "DARK Family" - the bonding that happened on that set was incredible!

We applied to the Guinness Book of World Records to compete as the fastest shot feature film and are waiting for final approval of the record.

We are now in the process of editing, finding a distributor, and furthering our Trans-media campaign. I have to say that "getting one in the can" feels so much better than waiting on big finance! I look forward to this year's AFM and invite you all to explore THE DARK with us at www.TheDarkMovie.com!

Thank you for this opportunity! AFM's support is tremendous and I appreciate what you do for us Indies.

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